Shoe-clostlbjj



Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

Application filed January 23, 1919. Serial No. 272,755.

To all whom 2 1- may concern:

Be it known that I, IIENRY M. Rnnnsu, a citizcn of the United States,residing at Junction City, in the county of Geary and State of Kansas,have invented certain new .and useful Improvements in Shoe-Closures; andL do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to in'iprovements in shoe closures and has forone of its objects .the provision of a device of,this character wherebythe use of hooks, or projections for closing or securing together theclosure flaps of the shoe is'ohviated, thereby preventing fraying ofdresses or trousers or the interference with the polishing process ofthe shoe.

Anotherobject of this invention is the provision of spaced flat hookssecured to the inner faces of the closure flaps of the shoe adapted toreceive the shoe strings from the inner faces thereof, whereby thetedious process of threading eyelets and the fraying of garments isobviated.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a shoe closure ofthe above stated character which shall be simple, durable and efficient,and which may be manufactured and sold at a comparatively low cost.

With these and other objects in view as will become more apparent as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in ccrtain novel featuresofconstruction. combination, and arrangement of parts as will behereii'iafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete unilerstai'iding of my invention, reference is to be hadto the following description and accompanying drawing, in which Figure lis a front elevation of a, shoe closure constructed in accordance withmy invention,

Fig. 2 is a fragn'icntary sectional view illustrating the manner ofsecuring the hooks to the inner faces. of the securing flaps of a shoeupper,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional View of one of the hooksillustrating the manner of securing the same to a strip of leathersecured to the inner face of the flaps of the shoe,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken'on the line -li of Fig.1,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary tion of one of the hooks.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 1 indicates a, shoeupper having the .usual closing flaps 2, to which my invention isapplied. Strips of "leather or other suitable material 3 are stitched orotherwise socured to the inner faces of the closure flaps adjacent theedges thereof. Hooks 4 constructed from fiat resilient material consistof a body portion 5 which riveted or otherwise secured to the strips ofleather 3 as illustrated at 6 and have one of their ends disposedangularly as illustrated at 7 to engage one edge of the strip to preventfraying thereof. The body portions 5 are bent upon themselves in spacedrelation to form resilient tongues 8 which tongues are disposed over thefaces of the strips 3 in spaced relation thereto so that a shoe string 9may be passed under the tongues 8 into the curved portion 10 which isenlarged and slightly rounded so that the shoe string can work freelytherein when released and drawn'taut. N ibs 11 are formed upon thebodies 5 adjacent the portions 10 for engaging the other edges of thestrips to prevent the strips from frayihg and also preventing the shoestring from coming in contact with the strips thereby binding themovement of the same. The nibs are slight] inclined so that in removingthe shoe string 9 from the hooks, it will be caused to freely ride overthe edge of the strip 3. The string receiving portion 10 of the hook isdisposed inwardly from the edge of the flap 2 of the shoe so that thesame is not visible from the exterior of the shoe. The free end of thetongue 8 is slightly curved away from the strip and projects beyond thestrip so that the string can he rcadily inserted and removed from underthe tongue when desired. The upper ends of the strips 3 are left freefrom the closure flaps 2 of the shoe upper 1 and provided with eyelets12 to receive the ends of the shoe strino 9 so that they may be tiedtogether on the inner faces of the closure flaps thereby providing aninvisible tying means of the string for the shoe.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, it will be noted when hooks of the above described characterare secured to the inner view partly in secstruction,

lifter passing them through the eyelets 12.

By having the hooks placed upon the inner faces of the closure flaps 2the edges of the closure flaps are permitted to be drawn in closeproximity to each other making a neat appearance to the shoe which isveryv desira' e.

While I have'shown and described the pre- :terred embodiment of-myinvention, it will be understood that minor changes in concornbination,and arrangement of parts, may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention as claimed.

What 1 claim as new is 1. The combination With a shoe upper in eludingclosure flaps, of strips of material secured to the inner faces of theclosure flaps adjacent their edges, hooks secured to said strips forreceiving a shoe string to secure the flaps together, and means formedupon. said hooks for engaging the edges of the strips to prevent frayingthereof.

2. The combination with a shoe upper including closure flaps, ofstripssecured to the inner faces of the closure flaps, fiat resilient hookssecured to the strips between the same and the inner faces of the,closure flaps for receiving a shoe string to scure the flaps together,nibs formed upon the hooks for engagement with the edges-of the stripsto prevent fraying thereof and the, bindin of the shoestringthereagainst.

3. The combination with a shoe upper including closure flaps, stripssecured to the inner faces of the closure flaps adjacent their edges,hooks secured to said strips for receiving a shoe string to securetheflaps together, said strips having their upper ends free from theclosure flaps, eyelets carried by the upper free ends of the strips forreceiving the ends of the shoe string to permit the shoe string to'betied together upon.

the inner faces of the closure flaps. v

4. The combination with a shoe upper including closure flaps, strips ofleather stitched to the inner faces of the closure, flaps adyacent theirfree edges, strips of resilient metal disposed between said strips ofleather and the inner faces of the closure flaps and extendingtransversely of the strips of leather, said strips of resilient metalbeing bent upon themselves in spaced relation to form resilienttonguessaid reriveted to said strips of material, resilient tonguesformed on said members and disposed over said strips in spaced relationto receive the shoe string, and said tongues projecting beyond the edgesof the strips and slightly curved to permit the easy insertion .of ashoe string thereunder. Iihtestimonv whereof ii efiix my signature inpresence of two witnesses.

HENRY M. RENNER. Witnesses:

Fns'ronsn E. VINSQN, Gwen F. @wrm-

